What Films Have You Seen Recently?

[Nosferatu@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by Justin101

I feel you, I have an exam in 4 weeks which I don't even know how to revise for and a 6 week project to have finished by 31st May but you have to give yourself a brain rest day every now and then or your work will suffer!

There are days when I won't be working on the assignments, but that time will be spent on placement. If I went to the cinema for 3 1/2-4 hours, it would have to be in the evening when it's busier, but I don't work so well – I'm always more productive in the mornings.

If I'm making good progress on the two bigger assignments (I've nearly finished the short one just today), I'll see if I can go one evening later in the week.

[iank]

Rented Krampus yesterday. A bickering family's decided lack of Christmas spirit invokes the wrath of the anti-Santa, the demonic Krampus, in this 2015 comedy-horror. This sounded like my cup of tea, and got generally favourable reviews, but I ended up being very disappointed by it. Uninteresting characters (and actors), poor pacing and not much in the way of real laughs or scares either. The "Krampus" section of the (much better than this movie) 2015 horror anthology A Christmas Horror Story did the same thing better and with more brevity. Pretty poor to be honest...

[tele1962]

Rififi, Arrow Blu Ray.

Not much to say about this one really..............apart from bloody fantastic.
If you have not got this in your collection take my word for it, try and make it your next purchase.

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Shockwaves (1977)

Shockwaves is one of those films i've always felt is perhaps more revered than it deserves to be. It's weirdly atmospheric but anyone expecting full blown Nazi zombie horror will be severely disappointed as the zombies basically shamble about and kill people bloodlessly or off screen.

It's two star names barely feature. John Carradine is in a few early scenes just to tell a chilling tale similar to Robert Shaw's story of the USS Indianapolis in Jaws, and Peter Cushing who admittedly does have a little more screen time as the zombies former commander, but in all honesty he too has nothing more than a glorified cameo.

Where Shockwaves does succeed is in the atmosphere it creates. The island Cushing resides on is a lonely desolate place, the only building a ruin, the waves lap the shoreline and the misty tree lines and rivers allow the rotting Nazi zombies cover to travel the island in a surreal, hallucinatory manner making the whole scenario creepy in the extreme especially when they emerge from the waves and frequently submerse them selves in the rivers as they move in for the kill.

Although Shockwaves is more Zombie Lake than Zombie Flesh Eaters , in fact it's very ramshackle in places but the film is an oddball little gem and is well worth seeking out.

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by iank

Rented Krampus yesterday. A bickering family's decided lack of Christmas spirit invokes the wrath of the anti-Santa, the demonic Krampus, in this 2015 comedy-horror. This sounded like my cup of tea, and got generally favourable reviews, but I ended up being very disappointed by it. Uninteresting characters (and actors), poor pacing and not much in the way of real laughs or scares either. The "Krampus" section of the (much better than this movie) 2015 horror anthology A Christmas Horror Story did the same thing better and with more brevity. Pretty poor to be honest...

Do you like Trick r Treat, ian?

[iank]

It's reasonable, if a little overrated.

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by iank

It's reasonable, if a little overrated.

Thanks. Just putting it into perspective as it's from the same director.

I love Trick r Treat, as do many round here so you may well be in a minority on this one.

[Frankie Teardrop]

BURIAL GROUND – Was a real pleasure to revisit this tawdry heap of nonsense again. Dead vs the living may have been done many times better before and since, but there's no topping 'Burial Ground' for sheer unembarrassed idiocy. I won't even get into the many dimensions of wrongness through which the uninformed viewer of 'Burial Ground' might be dragged, but, slightly rancid mother love aside, the whole thing is just one long undead attack – I wish that today's zombie losers would take note and stop toying with shite notions like 'character' and 'plot development' etc etc. Recommended, especially if you're feeling jaded after watching too much lame goods recently (like me, obviously).

THE TAKING – TV stalwart Jill Larson plays a woman in the initial stages of Alzheimers who is also being possessed by the spirit of a seventies child killer. Some medical researchers are on standby to ensure it all gets turned into a found footage horror flick. Bad luck, Jill. 'The Taking' is pretty good actually, and gets quite a lot of mileage out of some very obvious moves simply due to tha fact that it has energy and pacing on its side, not to mention good performances from the likes of Larson et al and some freaky imagery at the end (I refer to the bit where Larson appears to be trying to swallow a little girl's head... one of those 'you had to be there' moments, I guess). The found footage thing melts into the background, thankfully, and was a mere narrative ploy anyway just to get the researchers in the picture - the whole thing looks well shot after a while. Seems to be quite well regarded, and I think it's definitely worth seeing.

THE FALLOW FIELD – Brit indie from a few years back. Reminded me a little of B Wheately, and not just 'cos of the 'field' reference in the title, either... something wyrd, rural and English about it, all long shadows across the misty downs. Sets itself up as a amnesia themed thriller, then totally upskittles this and goes for the supernatural, complete with gibbering half man chained up in a farm's outhouse. Quite eerie in places, and manages to both intrigue and conjure a certain atmosphere. Recommended.

THE VINEYARD – I've reviewed this before, so why am I doing it again? Because it's brilliant, that's why. Ah, you can tell from my tone that no, perhaps it is not brilliant. A film producer / wine maker / alchemist – go on, why not? - keeps bad underwear models chained up in his cellar whilst various house guests wander around and do some really lame dialogue. A bunch of zombies turn up unexpectedly, but inconsequentially, at the end. If it came down to either watching this or dreaming of going to Wilkos and buying a stack of polystyrene cups I'd pick the former, but you'll really wonder what was so good about the eighties.

RETRIBUTION – Some painter guy who looks like C Walken reincarnated as a pudgy librarian attempts to end it all by leaping – when he comes to, he eventually finds that he's possessed by the spirit of a mobster out for revenge. Reassuringly gaudy looking in that classically eighties sense – mucho neon and gel on show. All good, but 'Retribution' goes on for too long, and fails to pack as much trashy horror in as it might, preferring, despite the presence of a couple of serviceable gore scenes, to follow painter guy as he emotes with his psych doc and hooker buddy. Still, points on for the lamest reason for spirit transmission in the whole of cinema – the invading entity had the same birthday as our hero.

[Susan Foreman]

Originally Posted by Nosferatu@Cult Labs

I bow down to your superior knowledge – I haven't seen any of the TV show.

I just used the phrase because I didn't want to keep writing Doctor Who (or Dr. Who) and thought it fit!

Hey - no worries

There is a lot of controversy within fandom concerning these films, and whether they are actually canon or not

Some people even suggest that Cushing's Doctor is actually an earlier incarnation of Hartnell's Doctor!

[Nosferatu@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by Susan Foreman

Some people even suggest that Cushing's Doctor is actually an earlier incarnation of Hartnell's Doctor!

You've lost me there!